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able even to imagine such, I sought it wholly in herself—and I did this so entirely, that I succeeded in almostforgetting myself. The ardent desire of seeing herhappy absorbed all my affections. In vain did sheseparate her happiness from mine; I saw it in hers,in spite of her. Thus the virtues whose seed were inmy soul, and which study had matured, began to germi-nate with my misfortunes, and waited but for the oper-ation of adversity to bud forth.” This exalted stateof mind, however, could not last. Finding his rivaltotally unworthy of his attempts to educate him, andj that he was plunging the unfortunate madame de Warens deeper in inevitable ruin, he hurried from the scene.The employment of tutor to the children of M. deMabli, at Lyons, was offered him; he undertook it; butsoon became disgusted. At a distance, the tranquilhappiness of Les Charmettes recurred to his memory;he began to fancy that he was in fault — that he had butto return to find love and peace. He did return, andthe illusion was dispelled for ever. For a short time he' gave himself up to study, while he revolved a thousandprojects for his future life. Music was still a favouritepursuit. He had invented a method of noting musicj which he considered more facile and perfect than the
i one in use. He believed that, if known, it would begenerally adopted; and that, if he took it to Paris andshowed it to the professors, they would at once perceiveits advantages, and his fortune would be made. Hisimagination speedily warmed with the idea, and hehurried to execute it. “ I had brought,” he writes,“ some money with me from Lyons; I sold my books toacquire a sum sufficient for my journey. My designwas taken and executed within the space of fifteen days.In short, full of magnificent ideas— and ever the same inall times — I left Savoy with my system of music, asbefore I had quitted Turin with my toy fountain.”
Rousseau pauses —his biographers usually pause—atthis epoch, when he was about to enter on a new life,—leaving the country and solitude for the busy capital of